[mythtv-users] Hardware Specs

[Rob Ogle]

One more....Can I build the backend with only one drive in the system or do
I have to have a separate drive for the data?
I've got a spare machine with a single 160GB SATA drive.  I didn't know if I
should boot to a small IDE and use the SATA for data only. 

-----Original Message-----
From: mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org
[mailto:mythtv-users-bounces at mythtv.org] On Behalf Of Rob Ogle
Sent: Sunday, December 31, 2006 6:04 PM
To: 'Discussion about mythtv'
Subject: Re: [mythtv-users] Hardware Specs

So...will a base Pentium One Celeron work? Or does either system have to be
PIII or greater? 


Rob O. wrote:
> OK gang, I've read through the past few month's archives and I'm
> *almost*
as
> lost on what hardware to go with as I was before I started. Although I 
> did pick up a few good tid-bits. I'm very glad to see that the list so
active.

>
> Down to the nitty-gritty...before I start purchasing stuff I'd like to 
> run my hardware specs by the masses because I'm sure I've missed 
> something
along
> the way. My initial setup will be to have one back-end system and one 
> front-end system. Once I've got that running smoothly, I'll probably 
> add
two
> more front-end systems into the mix.
>
> Back-End System:
> Ubuntu 6.0
> Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 (for Picture in Picture or multi-show records) 
> GIGABYTE GA-8I945GZME-RH LGA775 INTEL 945 CORE 2 DUO DUAL DDRII Intel 
> Pentium D 920 2.80GHz 2x2MB L2 800 MHz LGA775 Dual-Core Kingston 1GB
> DDR2 533MHz WD SE 400GB SATA RAID HD 8.9MS 16MB 7200RPM eVGA 
> 256-P2-N356-LX Geforce 6500 256MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express SONY DVDRW 
> DWG120A 16x16x Dual Layer (so I can burn records off for later
> viewing)
> Integrated Digital Audio
> RaidMax MILLANO MID Tower Case 420W PS Integrated 10/100 Mbp
>
> Front-End System:
> Ubuntu 6.0
> Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-150
> DELL Optiplex 210L (Celeron D 2660)
> 40GB SATAII
> 256MB RAM
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> mythtv-users mailing list
> mythtv-users at mythtv.org
> http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users
>   
Rob -

Are you running both machines as combined frontend/backend systems?  
Based on how you've placed the hardware it looks that way.
Assuming that you are running strict frontend/backend systems (the frontend
is only frontend, the backend is only backend, and neither is doing anything
but MythTV), I'd do things differently.
 - It seems to me that you've got way more horsepower (CPU speed) than you
need in that backend.  I'd spend the $$$ on hard drive space (more storage
is always better).
 - Stick the PVR-150 into the backend.
 - Similarly, take the high-power video card and put it in the frontend.  A
dedicated backend only needs fairly reasonable video for setting up.  The
frontend will need all the video HP it can get.
 - More frontend RAM, you don't need that much in the backend.

Understand, if I'm making incorrect assumptions about how you're using this
setup, then my advice won't be as helpful.  For example, if both machines
are combined frontend/backend, and both machines are doing other duty as
general purpose PCs, then what I say above is irrelevant, and you should
listen to someone who's successfully running a setup closer to what you're
planning.

Now, I'm a total cheapskate (I'm a technological bottom-feeder), but to give
you an idea what's possible, I'm doing SDTV (combined
frontend/backend) on an 800 Mhz Celeron, using a PVR-150 and an nvidia video
card, both of which take the video processing load largely off the CPU. We
record in DVD-quality resolution (saves running FFmpeg to burn a DVD).  I
run 1Gb of RAM, and 2 hard drives, a 40MB for general-purpose use, and a
200Gb for media storage.  The only thing I wish I had was more HD space for
media, but I haven't been able to score a bigger HD cheap enough for my
tastes yet.

Chris K.

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users at mythtv.org
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users

_______________________________________________
mythtv-users mailing list
mythtv-users at mythtv.org
http://mythtv.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/mythtv-users